Date:06/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/06/stories/2007050601051400.htm

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10 Sea Tiger cadres killed

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan navy on Saturday claimed to have killed 10 cadres of Sea Tigers and destroyed two of their craft in a battle off the Mullaittivu seas late on Friday.

An army statement here said its naval patrol craft had detected a cluster of LTTE boats heading towards Pulmudai from Nayaru on Friday night. It said the cluster consisted of 26 boats including four suicide boats.

"[The] Sri Lanka Navy Fast Attack Craft immediately confronted with the LTTE Sea Tigers and sunk two Sea Tiger boats. Further, six LTTE boats were severely damaged in the confrontation and LTTE Sea Tigers fled along with the damaged boats due to effective retaliation."

The army said the naval ground troops had intercepted an LTTE movement along the coast of Thriyaya, 19 km south west of Pulmudai. "The terrorist movement was cut off and confronted with fierce small arms fire. The LTTE terrorists were driven off the area."

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington DC has complained to the Justice and the State Departments that the Washington-based Intelsat Corporation is breaking the American law by continuing to broadcast the LTTE propaganda television and radio services despite assurances given weeks ago not to do so. The State Department listed the LTTE a foreign terrorist organisation

Embassy spokesperson Rajika Jayatilaka said in a telephone interview to the Defence Ministry website that she contacted David Synkfield, senior official of the Corporation and he admitted that the South Asian beams were still working for the terrorist group.